Vail Valley: Avon asks residents to remove noxious weeds

Related Media

AVON - It is weed season again and time for property owners to take action to look for and remove noxious weeds from their property. According to state law and local regulations, landowners are required to eradicate noxious weeds on their property and/or stop them from spreading. The Avon Public Works Department manages public land while private property owners are responsible to manage noxious weeds on private property.-

The Avon Town Council in 2010 revised an ordinance requiring the removal of noxious weeds from properties within the town and adopted a noxious weed management plan.- The plan was adopted to comply with state regulation to manage and mitigate weeds.-

The regulations, first adopted in 1983 and updated in 1992, 2010, and 2011, were intended to reclaim infested areas and protect weed-free lands from non-native invasive plants that threaten native habitats in and around Avon. The most effective way to remove weeds is to remove them physically rather than using pesticide.

Property owners are often shocked to learn that some of the plants in their garden are actually noxious weeds. The most commonly found weeds in Avon are toadflax, scentless chamomile, houndstongue, oxeye daisy, whitetop, yellow sweet clover and several species of thistle.

For more information, go to www.avon.org/noxiousweeds. For assistance in identifying a suspect plant, contact Avon Public Works Road and Bridge Superintendent Gary Padilla, 970-748-4118 or by e-mail at weeds@avon.org.